EQUAL TIME

I was recently reminded yet again that my blog is rather biased to which I admit, that is absolutely true. The bias stems from my personal taste and experiences and quite frankly there is nothing wrong with that, after all it is my rambling blog about both potters and pots. The person who leveled the claim is a collector of almost exclusively Bizen potter, no bias in that so in an attempt to give equal time to other types, I thought I would show this rather nice Ko-Mino hanaire and what is not to like? This vase is by Mino specialist Ando Hidetake was fired  in his wood kiln and where ash has landed it has made a drier, straw yellow surface reminiscent of Ki-Seto pottery though he is rather particular in naming these works Ko-Mino despite the areas at the shoulder, neck and mouth that I would classify as aburage style. Tall and well thrown, the deeply incised lines accentuate the vertical nature of the vase and add a subtle twist to the form that sets it in motion while the ash and glaze moving down the surface is rather visually appealing. Ando was raised in a pottery family before apprenticing under Kato Tokuro so the study and tradition of the Mino area is in his blood and comes quite naturally to him as is evidenced in this expressive hanaire just waiting on flowers and its placement in the a tea house tokonoma or on a shelf in one's home. I may be biased in what I like, but it is the individuals addition to his craft and personal vision that interests me and less so where they were made or from what tradition they sprang and I am convinced that this applies to a pioneer like Ando Hidetake.

"It is better to create than to learn; creating is the essence of life."  Julius Caesar